New Law Makes Anonymous Rape Tests Free

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New Law Makes Anonymous Rape Tests Free

JANE DOE: Sexual assault victims can now anonymously preserve evidence of their rapes in case they decide to prosecute their attackers later.

by Hilary Watts
Informify Staff Writer
May 15, 2008

New federal legislation will require all states to pay for anonymous rape exam kits for victims of sexual assault, beginning in 2009. In return, states will receive funding under the federal Violence Against Women Act, which provides tax dollars for women’s shelters and law enforcement training. Experts hope these “Jane Doe rape kits” will encourage more victims to follow through with examinations and reporting after a sexual assault.

Sexual Assault = Trauma and Embarrassment

A major obstacle to prosecuting rape cases is that many victims are too traumatized or embarrassed immediately following a rape to talk to police. Usually by the time they do, it’s too late to collect hair, semen and blood samples that could have been used to prosecute an attacker.

Forensic evidence must be collected as soon as possible after a rape. Hospital emergency rooms collect the evidence using rape kits. With the Jane Doe kits, hospital staff mark the kit with a number instead the victim’s name to preserve her anonymity. The hospital then seals the evidence and sends it to the police, who keep it on file in case the victim decides to press charges.

Knowing their anonymity will be protected with Jane Doe kits:

removes the pressure of having to decide whether to file charges before collecting evidence
allows victims to take their time deciding whether to file charges with the police
allows victims to remain anonymous forever if they want—police may not open a kit unless a victim decides to press charges

FBI Advised Free Tests Nine Years Ago

Since 1999 the FBI has recommended a nationwide policy to provide free anonymous rape exam kits for rape victims. A Jane Doe kit costs about $800.

Many health clinics, colleges and hospitals around the country, and the state of Massachusetts, already dispense the kits for free. But other places refuse to pay for rape exams unless victims file a police report. Beginning in 2009, all states must make the Jane Doe kits free to rape victims.

Sources

Anonymous rape tests are going nationwide (Associated Press, 5/14/08)

Law Requires Free Rape Test Kits For Sex Victims Nationwide (AHN, 5/13/08)

Anonymous Rape Tests To Be Made Available Nationwide (findingDulcinea, 5/14/08)

Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network Statistics (RAINN, 5/14/08)

Question for Readers:

Why do you think women are so reluctant to file charges against rapists?

Why Anonymous Rape Kits?

Of 272,350 sexual assaults in 2006, only 40% were reported to police. (RAINN, 5/14/08) Experts hope the anonymity offered by the Jane Doe rape kits will increase the number of sexual assaults reported and bolster rape prosecutions with accurate evidence.

Carey Goryl, executive director of the International Association of Forensic Nurses, is optimistic. "Sometimes the issue of actually having to make a report to police can be a barrier to victims, and this will allow that barrier to cease, to allow the victim to think about it before deciding whether to talk to police." (AP, 5/14/08)

Sexual Assault: Current Stats

According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest Network (RAINN), the nation’s largest sexual assault organization:

One in six women will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime.
One in 33 men will be sexually assaulted in his lifetime.
College-age women are four times more likely to be victims of sexual assault.
Reports of sexual assaults have increased by one-third since 1993.
An estimated 60% of the 272,350 sexual assaults in 2006 were not reported to the police.
Approximately 73% of rape victims know their attackers.
Only 6% of rapists will ever do jail time.

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Hi Lisa, Thanks for your response to the article. I wholeheartedly agree with you. I think the new law will give rape victims a chance to sort through their emotions-which I imagine would be complex and further tangled by society's messages about the roles of sexual assault victims-before they decide to go public. Namely, I don't think it's uncommon for victims (especially women) to question whether they are somehow to blame for being attacked or to feel like they don't have the right (or the self-confidence) to speak up for themselves and press charges. In the aftermath of a rape, which I imagine includes a whirlwind of emotions and contradicting thoughts, a little time and anonymity to sort through it all seems like the least our nation can afford to support those who experience the trauma of sexual assault. Maybe with this law, women are getting more of the respect they deserve as human beings.

May 16, 2008

A Big Step

Lisa from Paonia said:

This is a big step towards encouraging women to speak out against their attackers. So often a woman is too confused and stunned following a rape to make the right choice and this window of opportunity quickly disappears for them - leaving them without crucial evidence. I believe this step will be a big one in the way of women pressing charges against rapists. It will also likely be a deterant.

May 16, 2008

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